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Dell offers to streamline XP migrations, with just six months until support for the ageing OS is cut off

Dell has extended its migration services for businesses with a new offering intended to help customers jump-start a new migration or fast-forward one already in progress, a situation given new urgency with just six months until support for Windows XP is withdrawn.

Dell said that its Windows Migration Fast Forward Service can streamline an organisation's migration from Windows XP to Windows 7 and Windows 8 with expert guidance, unique tools and proven practices.

Kevin Jones, vice president and general manager for Dell's Infrastructure and Cloud Computing Services, claimed that roughly 21 percent of PCs are still running Windows XP, representing a thorny issue for many of Dell's customers

"Our goal is to provide organisations of all sizes with an efficient migration solution. The Windows Migration Fast Forward Service adds to Dell's complete suite of migration offerings that make upgrading to Windows 7 or Windows 8 fast, simple and affordable," he said.

Dell's Windows Migration Fast Forward Service comprises a number of modules, including inventory, application rationalisation, compatibility testing, remediation, packaging and deployment. This gives customers the flexibility to choose the package of services that best fits their needs while streamlining the process to save time and money, according to Dell.

The firm claims that using this service a typical Windows migration can be shrunk down to just 16 weeks.

However, more recently, Microsoft claimed that firms were using the impending release of Windows 8.1 as the catalyst to migrate away from the ageing XP platform. However, many large organisations are more likely to opt for Windows 7, with perhaps a smattering of Windows 8 or 8.1 for mobile workers with needs that are best met by tablets and touch interfaces.